Album Review: Superhumanoids – Exhibitionists

An exhibition of evocative synth-pop in debut

What drew me initially to Superhumanoids was the comfort in their sound. They’re the kind of band that, on first listen, has you desperately trying to place the nascent sounds of the song you’re hearing. That’s the type of built-in emotional resonance a band just can’t fake. One such standout is “A Gjost,” which I’m pretty sure is just Serbian for…“ghost.”

What Superhumanoids does so well on their debut LP Exhibitionists, which is out now, is play with musical textures. The album opens with the other-worldy “Black Window” as just a taste — an amuse bouche of the album, if you will — and just as soon as you’ve nestled into the cold, comforting arms of the song’s melodrama, the explosive opening of “Geri,” the album’s second track, knocks you out of your cocoon of self-loathing before you even know what hit you. This sort of ebb and flow continues throughout the album and never allows the opportunity for complacent ears.

Superhumanoids’ brand of synth-pop weaves comfortably, always, between two worlds: tempo-wise, between that of the thinking man’s midnight driving songs and introspective slow burners. No stranger to dualities, Superhumanoids is also a co-fronted outfit; Cameron Parkins and Sarah Chernoff alternate. His vocals are a deliberate, Euro-like cadence paired against hers, a falsetto yearning. All of this makes for a beautiful aural juxtaposition and the perfect amount of variety that has me wishing for more upon the close of Exhibitionsist’s tenth and final song.